Social Psychology and Justice Overview

Overview of Social Psychology and Justice

• Social psychologists study how individuals perceive justice and injustice.
• Their goal is to better understand how to create a more just society.
• Focus is on the subjective experience of justice, not defining what is inherently fair.
• They investigate how others judge and respond to justice.

Key Questions Social Psychologists Ask

• What do people perceive as fair?
• How are fairness perceptions formed?
• How do fairness perceptions impact cognition, affect, and behavior?
• What do people do to achieve justice?

What is Justice?

• Justice is treating others according to what they are entitled to, and receiving what is deserved.
• Justice involves fair treatment based on entitlements.
• Injustice occurs when rewards or punishments are disproportionate to deserved outcomes.

Social Exchange Theory of Justice

• Initially, it was assumed people are motivated purely by self-interest.
• This viewpoint was later challenged.
• Social Exchange Theory proposes that people strive to maximize rewards and minimize costs in relationships.
• Fairness is not always important, it just needs to look fair.
• People seek maximum rewards with minimal effort.
• Relationships are based on maximizing rewards and minimizing costs.

Examples of Social Exchange Theory

• Doing just enough work to avoid complaints (e.g., parents avoiding excessive housework).
• Buying gifts just enough to appear thoughtful, but not excessive.

Research on Motivations for Justice

• Pritchard et al. (1972) found overpaid students worked harder to justify their pay.
• Students who felt underpaid decreased their work performance.
• Walster et al. (1978): Overpaid individuals worked harder to justify their pay.
• Schmitt & Marwell (1972): Overpaid people might leave jobs for a fairer wage.
• Montada & Schneider (1989): Advantageous individuals often redistribute resources to help marginalized groups.

The Scope of Justice

• Scope of justice refers to the boundaries defining who is entitled to justice and fairness.
• Individuals within this scope are treated fairly, those outside are vulnerable.
• Inside the scope: granted fairness and moral consideration.
• Outside the scope: may experience harmful treatment and lack support.
• People sometimes justify harmful behaviors (e.g., war).
• Similarity to the target influences who is granted justice more.
• Context of conflict (e.g., war) narrows the scope of justice.
• Utility to oneself or society affects whether someone is included in the scope of justice.

Studies on Scope of Justice

• Kals & Strubel (2017) found greater support for refugees if they were seen as within the scope of justice.
• Opotow (1993) found utility to people and lack of conflict to include other individuals in the scope of justice.

Types of Justice

Procedural Justice

• Concerned with how decisions are made (e.g., decision-makers, processes).
• Key factors: consistency, bias suppression, accuracy, correctability, representativeness, and ethicality.
• Interactional Justice: Interpersonal treatment during decision-making (truthfulness, justification, and respect).

Distributive Justice

• Concerned with fair allocation of resources and rewards.
• Principles: equity (rewards based on contribution), equality (equal outcomes), and need (resources allocated based on need).
• Theories: Relative Deprivation Theory, Equity Theory, and Updated Equity Theory.

Research on Distribution of Justice

• Leung and Bond (1984) found Chinese participants preferred equal distributions among friends but favoured equity-based distributions among strangers.
• Törnblom et al. (1985): Swedes preferred equality while Americans leaned towards equity.

Retributive Justice

• Retributive Justice: Punishments proportional to the crime.

Procedural Justice vs. Distributive Justice

• Alexander & Ruderman (1987): Procedural justice is more strongly related to job satisfaction than distributive justice.
• Colquitt et al. (2001): Distributive justice predicts job satisfaction, but procedural justice is a stronger predictor of general job satisfaction and commitment.

Group Engagement Model

• This model explores how group identity influences extra-role behavior.
• Social identity and perceived fairness lead to more extra-role effort.
• Procedural justice and economic outcomes are key to group identification, enhancing extra-role behaviour.

Explore the key concepts of social psychology related to justice and fairness. This quiz delves into how individuals perceive justice and injustice and the factors that influence these perceptions. Understand the nuances of social exchange theory and its implications for creating a fair society.